The world disappeared as Victoria stared. She had felt a short moment of elation at the sight of him, the relief she felt shook her to her core.

But no matter her previous fleeting feelings, she was now terrified.

Victoria immediately sprang to her feet at the sight of him heading towards the café. The last thing she wanted was for him to meet Calum. But she could do nothing now, he had already seen them together.

The mood of the café seemed to completely change as he entered. The atmosphere turned cold and silent as all eyes followed him as he headed towards her.

"Victoria." He growled, he was menacing. Like a huge black wildcat about to attack.

"H-Hades. Y-youre back, I'm so relieved-"

"We are leaving. Now."

"But-"

The glare he gave her immediately shut her up. This was the first ever time where he was angry with her. The feeling made Victoria feel like crawling into herself.

She turned and gathered her things before turning to Calum.

"I'm so sorry about this, I'm not sure when I'll see you next."

Calum got up from his seat with a smile, pulling her into a hug.

"Take care of yourself Victoria, I'm here if you ever need me."

At that, Victoria pulled away and smiled at him before she and Hades made their way out of the café.

He was silent the entire time as they headed towards a large black, elegant and grand carriage.

Hades held open the door and waited for her to enter. With a quiet thanks, she made her way in.

The interior of the carriage was lined with red velvet, gold embroidery lined the seats and curtains. This, however, meant nothing to her in contrast with Hades behind her. Once she was seated, there was a moment of silence as he sat across from her and then he banged on the carriage roof twice to alert the driver to start moving.

The carriage gave a jolt as it headed towards wherever they were going.

Victoria stayed silent, fidgeting with her hands for what seemed like eternity.

"Are you not even going to acknowledge me?" Hades demanded, breaking the silence between them.

"I don't know what you want me to say." Victoria immediately protested, "I'm truly relieved that you have returned safely-"

Hades gave a short laugh that sounded more like a snarl.

"Yes, my love, so relieved that you immediately ran into the arms of another man."

The sounds of the city faded into the background. Loud blarings of car horns and the rolling grunts of public transport became a mere dull as Victoria felt hurt pierce into her heart.

"I didn't."

"You didn't? So what was that scene I witnessed in the coffee shop? Or shall I get into the fact that instead of staying in the safety of Mount Olympics, you chose to return to the mortal realm where anything could have happened to you?!" As he spoke, his voice raised until it thundered around the small carriage.

Victoria flinched at his tone of voice, yet he failed to notice and carried on.

"I spent weeks on the battlefield, witnessing my men sacrifice their lives. Thinking only of you the entire time I was away, thinking of how I was making this universe a safer place for you, dreaming of returning home and knowing that seeing the smile on your face would be worth it all."

"My King."

"Do you not know your own intended's name?! Or have I been away so long that you have forgotten?"

Tears brimmed in her eyes, her voice trembled as she spoke again.

"Hades."

Hades stared at her, his dark brown eyes alight with cold fury.

"I only returned last week. Athena thought that I would feel better in a setting that I was familiar and comfortable in."

His brows furrowed in response.

She continued. "I went home to pack up my belongings, they are all being stored on Mt. Olympus." Her voice broke and Victoria felt her cheeks redden in shame. "I was so worried about you, you were gone for so long and nobody had heard any news from you. I thought-"

She didn't dare to entertain the thought that came next, instead, she steeled herself. Forcing the onslaught of emotions down with every breath she took.

"Athena thought that coming back to the mortal realm would help distract and comfort me. I met up with Calum today so I could end things properly with him."

Her eyes fixated on the floor beneath her, trying to distract herself with the soft lilting of the carriage as it sped through the air. And failing to do so as she felt tears spill down her cheeks and fall onto her clothes.

She was engulfed in immense guilt at the suffering she had clearly caused him. So embarrassed and ashamed at how she must have made him feel.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, harshly wiping away her tears. He deserved more than this, more than witnessing her pathetic emotions, more than her blind actions that had so clearly hurt him.

Victoria couldn't bare his silence, she would much prefer his anger than this.

Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted off her seat and onto his lap.

Felt him brush away her hair from her face and his hand that cradled her head to his chest. She could hear his rapid heartbeat beneath his tunic, breathing in his scent that felt like a forgotten memory lodged somewhere in the deepest parts of her mind.

Tears raised their way to her throat again as she felt him drop a soft kiss on her hair.

"It is I who should be sorry."

Victoria felt his voice rumble through his chest. Now a lot softer and tinged with regret and sadness.

"It is wrong of me to project my hopes and fantasies onto you. I understand that it is no excuse but seeing you with Calum made me lose all rational thought. I shouldn't have been so angry and hurtful to you."

He wrapped his other arm around her waist and drew her in closer to him. It felt like heaven being in his arms once again. As if the past few weeks of agony meant nothing now that they had reunited.

"But I am still sorry. I can't imagine how you must've felt being away. And I'm sorry for being away from Mt. Olympus, I'm now aware of how that has come across to you."

Hades puffed out a breath of laughter. His hand came beneath her chin and tilted her face up towards him. He placed a light kiss upon her lips.

"I only felt that way because I misunderstood, you are not at fault for anything." He placed kiss after kiss on her face, over her eyes, brows and any area that he could.

"But you are not at fault either." It was hard to not be distracted by his attentions. He silenced her with another kiss on her lips, this time longer and deeper than before. Victoria's heart leaped in her chest, could feel it interrupt every breath she took.

"Let us no disagree any further." He mumbled against her lips, "I can't bear it."